Contractile bobbin



July 31, 1934. Q K JR 1,968,402

GONTRACTILE BOBBIN Original Filed Nov. 25, 1952 Svwewtoz Patented July 31, 1934 UNITED STA CONTRACTILE VBOBBIN John 0. Kinker, Jr., Richmond, Va.

Application November 25,

Renewed April 26,

3 Claims.

My invention relates to contractile bobbins and reels for winding filaments, yarns, threads, and the like (hereafter referred to as filaments) and also for the winding of tapes, ribbons, films, wires,

5. and other material that may be wound on'a bobbin or reel or mandrel, and which it is desired to remove later from the material wound.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a bobbin which may be removed quickly from 1! the windings of delicate filaments, such as silk, without rupturing or disarranging the filament; and it is especially useful for winding those filaments which are wet or moist when wound, and which shrink on drying. A winding of such a filament grips the bobbin when dry; and the cake-as such a completed winding is known in the artis removed with difiiculty, and sometimes not without damage to the filament.

A further object of my invention is to produce at small cost a bobbin which presents a firm structure on which to wind the filament; but which may be readily and quickly contracted and withdrawn from the cake.

Referring to the drawing: Figure I shows in front elevation a bobbin, upon which a filament is to be wound, mounted upon rollers; Figure II is a part. side elevation and a part section of the same. Figures III and IV and V are end views showing my bobbin in .the three phases: open, closed,'and contracted. Figure VI shows a bobbin provided with finger holds or perforated lugs which maybe seized by the fingers and thumb or by a pair of tongs of the well known two or three pronged type. In Figures VII and VIII is shown a bobbin provided with linked arms, by grasping which the bobbin is contracted. Y

I make my bobbins of several materials, each adapted to the service for which the bobbin is intended. Some I make of spring-brass, orcopper, or aluminum; others of steel; and still others I plate or coat with a coat or film specially resistant to acids and other chemical solutions. 7

In Figures I and II rollers 1,1 are mounted on shafts 2, 2. The two shafts revolve in'the same direction. Centrally arranged on the rollers are annular, projecting flanges 3, which serve to hold the bobbin in endwi'se'position. A bobbin 4' lieson the rollers 1, and between the flanges 3. The outline of. a wound filament or cake isshownat 12 in Figure II. When the shafts are revolved in one direction the bobbin is rotated in the opposite direction. As a rule the speed of the'shafts is controlled by a speed regulator, to gradually 55 reduce the speed of rotation of the'bobbin'as the contracted the bobbin may.

1932, Serial No. 644,191.

size of the winding increases in order to keep a uniform tension on the filament being wound.

,Some filaments which are wet or in a damp condition when wound, on drying shrink upon and seize the bobbin very tightly. When using a solid bobbin difficulty is experienced in removing the cake from the bobbin; in fact, in some cases, considerable pressure is required to press or force the bobbin out of the cake. But when such filaments are wound upon my bobbin, the latter 55 can be contracted and removed from the cake quickly and without difficulty.

Referring againto the drawing: the bobbin 4 is composed of sheet metal, having considerable spring to it. The sheet metal is rolled up in a cylindrical shape. The cylinder is open longitudinally at 5. The edges 6 and 7 of the plate at the opening are formed, respectively, into the groove 8 and the flange 9.- The groove and the flange are so formed and proportioned that when 7 the flange lies within the groove the closed bobbin forms a cylinder, without a hump orraised surface at the joint. This is shown in Figures II and IV. The sheet forming the bobbin is so rolled that when the flange 9 is released from the groove 8 the-two edges 6 and '7 will spring apart. The amount of spring so opening the bobbin serves to hold the flange and groove together when the bobbin is closed.

The filament having been wound, a slight pressure exerted on the winding at a point near the grooved edge 6 of the bobbin wall (indicated by an arrow in Figure IV) will spring the groove 8 from the flange 9. Or the pressure may be applied on the ends of the bobbin instead of on the cake A slight continued pressure passes the grooved edge 6 of the bobbin wall under the flanged edge '7, behind which edge pressure may also be applied by the fingers. The bobbin is contracted by shortening thevperiphery and consequently the diameter; and when the diameter is sufficiently be easily withdrawn (See Figure V.) It should be as the external pressure is the surface of the bobbin, as it is by the wound filament or cake,the groove and flange will remain closed. The smaller sizes of my bobbin may be readily contracted by external pressure, as just described; but there are cases in which it is neither convenient nor advis- 105 able to'apply external pressure to the bobbin, nor to handle the outside surface of the bobbin, nor the surface of the cake. For such cases I attach to the inside of the bobbin perforated lugs or finger-holds, 10; see Figure VI. Thumb and 11 from the cake. noted that so long equally applied on fingers may be inserted in these holds; and the bobbin is contracted by closing the thumb upon the fingers. Or, in place of the thumb and fingers, I may use one of the well known forms of two or three pronged tongs. I use such tongs when the diameter of the bobbin is too small to admit thumb and fingers conveniently.

In cases in which so large a bobbin is used that it cannot be conveniently held in the hand and contracted by outside pressure, or by the fingers, or by tongs, I construct within my bobbin a hand grasp consisting of a system of arms linked together, and so arranged that they may be brought toward one another to contract the bobbin. This construction I show in Figures VII and VIII, wherein 20 is the bobbin, and 8 and 9 the groove and flange respectively, and 6 the grooved edge and 7 the tongued edge. At 21, I rivet to the wall of the bobbin the piece 22, which is provided with pivotal points at 23 and 24. A link 25 is riveted to the wall of the bobbin at 26, near the grooved edge 6. At its other end it is pivoted at 23 on the arm 22. Another link 27 is pivoted at 24 to the arm 22. This link 27 is also pivoted at 29. The pivot at 29 is attached to a bracket 30, riveted to the wall of the bobbin. I use the term riveted to signify a fixed or rigid form of connection. Such a joint may be riveted, brazed, soldered, welded, or made by any other suitable method.

I have found that the arrangement of the arms and links shown in Figures VII and VIII is convenient as a hand-grasp; and I have located the positions of the points 21, 26, and 29 with respect to the location of the joint 5 by trial in order to obtain a smooth relative movement of the grooved edge 6 and the flanged edge 7 in the act of contracting the bobbin. When the links 25 and 27 are grasped and drawn toward one another, the grooved edge 6 of the bobbin wall will be drawn slightly downward to clear the flange 9. It will also be drawn toward the point 29; in this manner changing the curvature of the sheet between the grooved edge 6 and the point 21. At the same time, the closing of the hand on the links causes the link 27, pivoted at 24, to swing toward the joint in the bobbin wall; and since the link 27 is attached to the wall at 29, the movement of link 27 will pass the flanged edge 7 of the bobbin wall beyond the position of the joint as seen in the closed phase in Figure IV. Thus by drawing together the links 25' and 27 I shorten the periphery of the bobbin, and so reduce its diameter. I can now easily withdraw it from the cake.

I make the connection of the link 27 at 29 a pivoted one in order to get the desired close sliding relation between the two edges, 6 and 7, of the wall of the bobbin when it is contracted. It isseen that the grooved edge 6 is drawn slightly down toward the center, while the flanged edge 7 is slid smoothly over and beyond the grooved edge 6. If the connection at 29 were made a rigid one, the flanged edge 7 of the bobbin wall would not have the desired motion relatively to the grooved edge 6. This relative motion be tween the two edges 6 and 7 is important because at the time the movementv begins the wall of the bobbin is subjected to the contractile force exerted by the shrinking cake of filament.

I have shown in the drawing bobbins. having plain or tapered ends, to be mounted on centrally flanged rollers; and I have also shown in Figures VII and VIII a bobbin having beaded ends, which beads serve to hold the bobbin in place on grooved rollers, and which beads also serve to give strength to the bobbin. My invention is applicable to both types, plain and beaded; to bobbins having plain surfaces or perforated surfaces; in fact, to any bobbin which can be made of sheet material having elastic properties, and at the same time sufficient rigidity. My invention is also applicable to bobbins which revolve, not on their peripheries, but which are attached to shafts which turn in bearings. By referring to Figures VII and VIII it will be seen that the arm 22 can be readily attached to a shaft by means of a hub. If a cylinder were rolled to ,a true circular form; and if the out along one side were made true and square, with squarely opposing edges there would for a time be no need to form a groove and a hooked or flanged edge. But in practice a bobbin is handled often, and somewhat roughly; and a contractile bobbin would in some cases become deformed if some means were not used to keep the edges in line. If the edges were not kept in line when the filament being wound upon the bobbin began to exert the pressure due to shrinkage, the bobbin would collapse. For this reason I turn a flange upon each edge of the opening in the cylinder to increase the abutting surfaces. In this form the bobbin would be satisfactory in some cases; but, since the edges would be sprung against each other, and, after the bobbin was contracted, would be lapped on each other, it would be necessary to use force. to pull the bobbin open again and to return it to its cylindrical form. Furthermore, a bobbin so constructed would be costly to make. I have found that it is better to form the bobbin so that it is open at the cut when it is released, because it can be closed, or contracted, by a simple pressure or the hand, and because it can be formed so at a lower cost. In practice it would be a little difficult to form the flanges on the edges of the sheet after it has been rolled to the cylindrical form- I therefore form the flanges, returning one of them upon itself to form a groove, upon the opposite edges of a flat sheet of the desired size. I then roll the flanged sheet into the desired cylindrical;

form, and to such a degree that when the sheet is released the two opposing edges of the open cylinder will stand apart, and also so that the edge which is formed into a groove will stand outside or a little farther from the center than the edge which is formed into the simple flange; as shown in Figure III. This I do so that when the edges are brought together by a' simple pressure of the hand, and the flanged edge is hooked into the grooved edge, the latter will exert a I.

pull and an outward pressure upon the flanged edge, sufiicient to hold the bobbin to form until it is fully held by the winding filament.

I claim:

1. A bobbin consisting of a tubular shell open longitudinally, the shell at the opening-being provided on one side with a groove and on the other side with a flange adapted to enter the groove to hold together in such a manner that the tube will retain its form when subjected to external pressure uniformly applied but also so that the tube may be contracted to a smaller cross section by external pressure locally applied.

the two edges at the opening 2. A bobbin consisting of a tubular shell open the groove on the other edge to hold the two edges opening being provided with a groove, the opposite edge of the shell at the opening being provided with a flange adapted to engage in the groove on the other edge, and means for passing the two edges over one another to reduce the cross section of the shell.

JOHN C. KINKER, JR. 

